Art. 7. - Paving streets; levying assessments.

The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact:

Section 1. That the board of aldermen of the town of Sanford, North Carolina, shall have and is hereby given and granted full power and authority to adopt by ordinance such system of creating and laying out, altering or changing districts or sections of streets and sidewalks in the town of Sanford, North Carolina, for paving and other permanent improvement, to assess, and provide for equalizing the assessment of all cost and charges of such improvement upon real estate and abutting property in said town as may be just and proper; and in order to more fully carry out the provisions of this act for permanent street improvement, said board of aldermen shall have full power and authority to pass ordinances assessing the entire cost of paving, curbing, repaving, installation of proper drainage facilities, or otherwise permanently improving all streets and sidewalks, or portion thereof paved, repaved, curbed, or otherwise improved in said town; and it shall be incumbent upon the owners of real estate abutting on each side of the street or sidewalk, or part thereof so improved or repaired, to pay the amount so assessed for such improvement, and such cost, charges or assessment shall be a lien on all abutting property from the commencement of the work as provided for in this act: Provided, however, that two-thirds of the costs of such street improvement shall be assessed against and paid by the abutting property, or one-third of such costs assessed against the property abutting on each side of the street, and one-third of the cost to be paid by the municipality, the total costs of such improvements to be financed by the issuance of serial bonds as hereinafter provided.

Sec. 2. That in order to equalize the assessments on real estate for the purposes described herein, the board of aldermen shall before the commencement of such street work or improvement, estimate the total cost of such improvement to be made in any district created or laid out for such purpose, and shall then prorate the cost thereof on the real estate abutting thereon in proportion to the frontage on the street, or portion of street so improved, and charge to and assess upon the real estate on each side of the street upon which work is to be done, its pro rata share of the entire cost of all such improvements made under the provisions of this act. The cost of such improvements for special benefit of, or to, property, as estimated in the above manner, shall be financed by the issuance of bonds and the levy of special taxes and assessments to pay the principal and interest thereon, as hereinafter provided.

Sec. 3. That such assessments of estimated cost charged or assessed against abutting property, shall constitute a lien upon such abutting property from and after the date of the filing of a statement thereof by the street committee of the board of aldermen of said town in the office of the town clerk, payable and to be collected as hereinafter provided, and subject to such increase or reduction as may be necessary to make a just and equitable distribution of the actual cost of such improvement when ascertained as herein provided.

Sec. 4. That immediately upon the completion of the work in any district created, or section laid out, for permanent street improvement by said board of aldermen, as herein provided, the town engineer, or other person or committee of the board of aldermen, in charge of such work, shall make a report in writing to said board of aldermen showing the total actual cost of such improvement throughout the entire length of said district, or section, created or laid out, with the number and description of the lots abutting on said streets or portion thereof, so improved, together with the number of feet frontage of each of said lots and the owners thereof, and said board of aldermen shall ascertain, determine, and declare the actual cost of such permanent improvements in such district or section, and in order to equalize the assessments on real estate for the purpose of paying therefor, shall take the total cost of such improvement throughout the entire district or section, and shall then pro rate the cost thereof and assess the same against the real estate abutting on the street therein, in proportion to the frontage on the street, or portion thereof, so improved, and charge to and assess against the real estate and each lot upon each side of the street upon which said work is done, its pro rata share of the cost of such improvement: Provided, however, that the total cost of such street improvement in such district or section, as determined and declared by said board of aldermen, shall be final and conclusive, subject only to impeachment for fraud or collusion, with the right of appeal as herein provided. And the charge or assessment made against the abutting property under the estimated cost of such street improvement work as herein provided, shall be corrected by the addition of the difference between it and the actual cost thereof, or the deduction of such difference, accordingly as the estimated cost thereof may be less or greater than such ascertained actual cost, and as thus corrected shall constitute a lien upon abutting property as herein provided: Provided, however, that in case any street or part of a street laid out as a district for permanent improvement is of such unequal width as to render the plan of equalization of assessments as set out in this act unjust to any abutting property, then and in that case the said board of aldermen are authorized to divide such district into subdivisions and to apply the rule of equalization of assessments prescribed herein to such subdivisions, instead of the entire district or section created or laid out. And said board of aldermen may make as many subdivisions of said districts or sections as may be necessary to effect a just distribution of the cost of permanent improvements to be made in the district or section.

Sec. 5. That the board of aldermen shall cause a written notice to be served on all owners of abutting property affected by improvements as provided by this act, at least ten days before the final assessments provided for in this act are made, which notice shall command the property owner to appear before the board of aldermen at a time and place stated therein and show cause, if any, why such assessment should not be made, which notice may be served by any policeman or constable of the town of Sanford, or other proper officer, and proved by the return of such officer thereon endorsed. In the event the owner or owners of any such lot or lots herein referred to, be an infant, idiot, lunatic, or incompetent, then his general guardian, if he has such, shall act for him; if he has none, it shall be the duty of the clerk of the Superior Court of Lee County, North Carolina, to appoint a guardian ad litem to act for him. Any person who shall feel aggrieved by the findings or assessments of said board of aldermen with reference to such permanent improvements shall have the right within ten days after the findings and assessments by said board of aldermen have been filed with the clerk of the Town of Sanford, and not thereafter, to file with said clerk his objections to such findings, and appeal from the decision of said board to the next term of the Superior Court for Lee County, North Carolina, by serving a notice in writing upon the mayor and town clerk of said town of his intention to do so, specifying in said notice the grounds of his objection to said findings, and by filing within the time above prescribed for taking appeals of a written undertaking in the sum of at least two hundred dollars, with sufficient surety to be justified and approved by said clerk, to the effect that said appellant will pay to said town all such costs and damages as it may sustain by reason of said appeal. In such cases of appeal from the board of aldermen, the ordinance laying out or creating the improvement district or section, the action of the board with reference to the special benefits, minutes of the proceedings of said board, the objections of the property owner with reference thereto, and all other documents with reference to the same, and material to the controversy, shall constitute the case on appeal, and be certified by the town clerk of Sanford to the clerk of the Superior Court for Lee County, and docketed as other civil causes for trial, and shall be tried at the next ensuing term of said court, with leave of either party to file such pleadings as he or it may be advised. If said issues or any of them, be found in favor of the town of Sanford, to any amount, then judgment shall be rendered for and in favor of said town for such amount, and the amount so found together with the costs of such appeal, to be assessed and taxed as costs in other civil actions, shall be and continue a lien against the property upon which the original assessment was placed, from the date of said original assessment, and shall be paid as herein provided, and by law provided, for the collection of judgments.

Sec. 6. That as soon as the amount assessed against such abutting property is determined in the estimated costs of such permanent improvements in any district or section created or laid out as herein provided by said board of aldermen, the said board may cause a notice to be published once a week for two weeks in some newspaper published in the town of Sanford, substantially in the form following:

STREET IMPROVEMENT NOTICE

Notice is hereby given that a street improvement district has been created as follows: (describe limits of district), for the purpose of (describe improvement work contemplated), and that the improvement to be chargeable and assessed against abutting real estate has been estimated as to each parcel of said real estate, and a statement of the same is on file at the office of the town clerk. Bonds will be issued to pay the special assessments and cost thereof except in cases where owners of the property file with the town clerk, within ten days from the date of this notice a written notice that they elect to pay in cash the special assessment against their property, describing the same.

Sec. 7. After the expiration of the time fixed for the filing of the notice of election of the property owner to pay the sum assessed as provided for in this act, the board of aldermen of the town of Sanford, North Carolina, is hereby authorized and empowered to issue improvement bonds covering all assessments and the costs of such permanent street improvements, except such assessment as property owners may elect to pay in cash, which bonds shall be known and designated as "street improvement bonds," not exceeding in the aggregate two hundred fifty thousand dollars, such bonds to be executed in the corporate name of the town of Sanford, by its mayor and town clerk, under its corporate seal with semiannual interest coupons thereto attached, bearing the facsimile signature of the town treasurer, maturing in series within twenty years from the date of issue, in such form and in such denomination and bearing such date and such rate of interest, not exceeding the legal rate per annum, as said board of aldermen shall determine, principal and interest payable at such time and place as said board of aldermen shall prescribe, and may be sold at either public or private sale for the best price that can be obtained therefor, not less than par: Provided, however, cost of printing and attorney's fees and expenses shall be paid from the proceeds of selling said bonds. The series of said bonds shall mature within the period of twenty years from date of issue, in installments, the first of which shall mature at the expiration of three or five years from the date of issue, and no one of which shall be greater than twice the amount of the preceding installment, and the proceeds from the sale of any of said bonds shall be used for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this act, and disbursed as now provided by law for the disbursement of funds by the town treasurer: Provided, said board of aldermen may provide that any contractor for permanent improvement work constructed hereunder, shall take said bonds as payment on the contract price for such improvement at par value, and interest accrued thereon: Provided, however, the purchaser of said bonds need not see to the application of the purchase money paid for said bonds.

Sec. 8. At the date of each annual tax levy after the issuance of bonds hereunder, and thereafter until all bonds issued hereunder have been fully paid, when the tax levy for the year is prepared, sufficient special assessments of taxes on each parcel or lot of land abutting on the streets wherein such improvements are made, to pay the annual installments of principal and interest on the amount of such special assessments then unpaid, shall be included in the tax levy for the said town as a special tax on said property, and thereafter such tax shall be treated in all respects as any other town tax, to be collected in the same manner and constitute a lien on the property affected, and in every other respect the same as other taxes; and in case the owner of the property fails or refuses to pay said special assessment, then the property shall be sold and in the same manner as real estate is sold for the collection of taxes thereon.

Sec. 9. That for the purpose of paying the principal and interest upon the bonds authorized by this act, the said board of aldermen of the town of Sanford is hereby authorized and empowered to levy and collect, at the same time, and in the same manner as other taxes are collected, in addition to the special assessments to be made and levied hereunder, a special tax not exceeding forty cents on the one hundred dollars valuation of taxable property, real and personal, within the corporate limits of the Town of Sanford.

Sec. 10. That the assessments made and determined by the board of aldermen under the provisions of this act, against real estate for the purpose of paying the cost of such permanent street improvements, shall be due and payable in annual installments, to be fixed by said board of aldermen at not less than ten, nor more than twenty, each installment bearing interest at a rate not exceeding the rate paid on bonds issued for such district from the date of final findings by said board of aldermen as herein provided, and the total assessment so made shall be and remain a lien upon said lot or parcel of land, notwithstanding any sale thereof for the purpose of enforcing the collection of any annual installments until paid in full.

Sec. 11. That the cost of making permanent improvements at the street intersections within said town of Sanford shall be assessed and paid as follows: one-eighth part thereof by the owner of each corner lot thereof, and one-half thereof by the town of Sanford, such assessment to be a lien upon such lot, chargeable and payable in installments as other assessments made hereunder.

Sec. 12. That said board of aldermen is hereby authorized and empowered to assess upon street railways and others using the streets of the said town for the purpose of maintaining tracks thereupon, in any district or section created or laid out hereunder, the total cost of paving between the rails and for a space of eighteen inches on each side thereof, and, in addition thereto, two-thirds of the costs of such improvements made over and across railroad and street crossings in such district, to be assessed and collected as herein provided for assessments upon such abutting property, and the railroad tracks and rights-of-way occupied by tracks, lying adjacent to or abutting on or along the streets of the town of Sanford, or section of streets, in any district created or laid out under this act for street improvement work, shall be considered abutting property, and shall be subject to the lien of special assessments as provided for in this act, to the same extent and in the same manner as such assessment may be levied against abutting property, on or along the opposite side of such street or streets.

Sec. 13. That the board of aldermen of said town is hereby authorized and empowered to require by proper ordinance the owners of any vacant lots, or unoccupied real estate within any improvement district or section created or laid out hereunder, as a part of the improvement work therein, to make proper connection with the sewer lines and water pipes of said town, as now laid out and established, or hereafter changed or relocated, at the property line of such real estate and street, before and as a part of the street improvement work in such district, and upon failure of said owner to do so within ten days from the service of a notice upon such owner, or the agent of such owner, the said board of aldermen may order said connections made by the town and charge and assess the same against the abutting property benefited by such connection, and enforce the collection thereof, as herein provided for the payment of assessments made for other street improvements.

Sec. 14. The said board of aldermen shall have full power and authority to determine, in the exercise of its discretion, the nature and kind of surfacing materials, whether concrete, asphalt, bitulithic, or other paving materials, to be used in said street improvements: Provided, however, streets shall be hard-surfaced from curb to curb.

Sec. 15. That the costs of installation of storm sewer, proper drainage facilities, and curbing, in any such district shall constitute a portion of the costs of such street improvement to be assessed under the provisions of this act.

Sec. 16. That any benefits accruing from the location or construction of the State highways, or from the disbursements of funds therefor by the State Highway Commission, within the corporate limits of the town of Sanford, shall be paid and inure to the benefit of said town of Sanford, and be applied to its portion of cost of any street improvement made hereunder.

Sec. 17. That all funds derived from the sale of any bonds, and from special assessments and taxes levied and collected hereunder shall constitute a separate fund, to be known as the street improvement fund, and a separate record thereof shall be kept by the town treasurer, and shall be expended only for street improvement work, extension of sewer and water lines, in said town, and the payment of interest upon the bonds hereby authorized, and to create a sinking fund sufficient to pay said bonds at maturity, as provided in this act.

Sec. 18. That said bonds herein authorized may be issued by said board of aldermen in one or more issues, at such times, in such sums and such aggregate amounts as said board may, in the exercise of its discretion, deem necessary to pay for the street improvement in any district created or laid out under the provisions of this act.

Sec. 19. That all laws and clauses of laws in conflict with any of the provisions of this act, so far as same may conflict herewith, be and the same is hereby repealed: Provided, however, that the methods for the construction of sidewalks in said town of Sanford as provided in the charter of said town shall be and remain in full force and effect.

Sec. 20. That the powers enumerated and conferred by this act shall be concurrent with the powers and provisions of the Municipal Finance Act of North Carolina, and acts of the General Assembly supplemental and amendatory thereto, except that the portion of the bonds issued hereunder and assessed against abutting property shall be excluded from the limitations in said act placed upon authority to issue bonds, and proceeding relating to the issuance and sale of said bonds may be had either under the provisions of this act, or said Municipal Finance Act, or both concurrently, as said board of aldermen may determine, and wherever any conflict occurs, the provisions of this act shall control.

Sec. 21. That this act shall be in force from and after its ratification.

Ratified this the 14th day of December, A.D. 1921.

(Private Laws of 1921, chapter 15)